Wednesday, February 26, 2014

I have a confession to make: I watched the Olympic Games nearly every day for two weeks. I did not watch every sport, but I especially enjoyed watching the Canadian and Dutch athletes (I hold dual citizenship). I admit that I was unable to keep abreast of what was happening elsewhere in the world as much as I usually do, and thus there were many things that I missed, if not entirely, at least in detail. If you followed the Olympics closely, you may have had a similar experience.

The list of countries where a lot has happened during the Olympics is a long one: Syria, Turkey, Nigeria, and Central African Republic are only a few; the list could go on and on. In many countries these developments are the continuation of earlier ones, but in some cases matters came to a head during these two weeks, as it did in Ukraine (note absence of "the").

As the Olympics drew to a close, the crisis in Ukraine culminated with the departure and deposition of President Viktor Yanukovich. As I am writing this, his whereabouts are uncertain, as is the future of his country. The good news is that the slaughter, in which more than 100 protesters and police died, has ended, at least for a while. But the unrest continues with pleas from the protesters in Independence Square that the new government be instituted as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there have been numerous delays in naming the cabinet, which illustrates the divisions within the protest camp.

Ukraine, meaning "borderland," is where Russia started historically and spiritually. The baptism of Vladimir the Great in 988 marks the turn to Byzantine Christianity. Russia considers this event as both the beginning of Russia and of its association with Orthodoxy. The millennium of this event was celebrated in 1988.

This intimate connection with Ukraine is why Russia to this day refuses to concede that country to the West. Ukraine is still considered an integral part of a greater Russia. Russians have never accepted the dissolution of the Soviet Union entirely; they regard Ukraine and other former USSR states as the "near abroad." In other words, these states enjoy a special status in the Russian scheme of things.

The protests in Ukraine increased in scope and violence ever since Yanukovych, late last year, under great financial pressure from Russia, refused to sign a trade agreement with the European Union. Polls conducted then showed 43% of Ukrainians approved of closer links with the EU. His bowing to Russian pressure was seen as a betrayal by many Ukrainians. It provided further evidence that he favored the Kremlin over the western provinces of his own country. But the protests eventually went far beyond this issue. The men and women who gathered in Independence Square wanted the ouster of Yanukovich and his government.

At the risk of oversimplifying Ukraine's complex geographical and historical situation, the western part of the country is largely Ukrainian-speaking and has a pro-European stance, whereas the eastern and southern parts are Russian-speaking and are oriented to Moscow.

Some people surmise that Yanukovich has fled to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, from where he might be able to stage a return to power or to promote secession and its reabsorption by Russia, from where it had come during Khrushchev's time (who was supposedly drunk at the time of the transfer). Yanukovich was reportedly seen in Crimea over the weekend. The Russian Black Sea fleet has for many years leased a base in Sevastopol in the Crimea. This is where the Ukrainian fleet is also based.

During the Olympics the government and the protesters continued fighting in Independence Square in Kyiv (this is the newer transliteration), which all sides recognize as the capital of Ukraine. This square, also known as Maidan, is very large, as I know when I visited it about twenty years ago. It became the main battle zone between protesters and the government, but has become quieter since the departure of Yanukovich.

I won't write much about these protests, since they were well covered even during the Olympics. After all, Ukraine is just down the coast of the Black Sea from Sochi. Yanukovich attended the Olympics, and Putin must have kept more than a single eye on developments in Ukraine. What Putin will do now is still uncertain.

Putin can cut the gas supplies to Ukraine, but that would hurt Russia economically, since two-thirds of its gas exports to Europe go through Ukraine. Military options are very limited. Sending Russian troops to Ukraine would be tantamount to war. But Russia is staging military exercises on the border with Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to send Yanukovych and others before the International Criminal Court for “serious crimes.” MPs passed a resolution linking the ousted president to violence against protesters which caused the deaths of more than 100 people. The resolution said the former interior minister and prosecutor-general should also be sent to The Hague.

Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, who is also a Baptist pastor, has warned of “dangerous signs of separatism” in parts of the country, amid anger at the removal of Yanukovych. His comments echo those of MPs who have voiced fears that Ukraine could split because of anger in the east and south at recent events in Kyiv.

Putin cannot afford to lose Ukraine, however. If Yanukovich can be ousted, then Putin can too, is the logic that drives him. Yet Putin has to tread carefully, lest he upset Western countries. But Putin can count on the support of China, which is the largest foreign landowner in Ukraine and hardly in favor of people's power.

One action he might take is to give Russian passports to Russian speakers in Crimea, and then move into Crimea in order to protect them. There have already been marches in Sevastopol and elsewhere in Crimea where people chanted, "Russia, Russia."

This is what he did in Abkhazia in 2008. Such an action might provide a slight cover for Russia, but it would nevertheless be condemned by Western countries that have already called for sanctions against Russia as a warning to stay out of the Ukrainian crisis..

As for the eastern part of Ukraine, Putin's options are even more limited. Yet his own future is threatened by the developments in Ukraine. There have already been protests in Moscow. As the Pussy Riot protesters have demonstrated, it is easy to gain the attention of the world, whether in Moscow in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior or in Sochi at the Olympics.

The rest of the world will not sit idly by as the situation in Ukraine resolves itself. Putin should be warned that Ukrainians of every ethnicity must be allowed to choose their own future. There must not be any interference from Russia nor should there be any from the West.

As John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, correctly observed, "This is not a zero-sum game, it is not the West versus East. This is about the people of Ukraine making their choice about their own future."

Canada is sending Foreign Minister John Baird to Ukraine with a large delegations of MPs and Ukrainian-Canadians to meet with the new leaders there. There are many people of Ukrainian descent in Canada and a federal election is expected in Canada sometime in 2015.

On the one hand one must admire Canada standing with the Ukrainian people in this time of crisis, yet on the other hand there is more than a whiff of politics involved. Canada must be careful not to feed the suspicion of Russian-speaking Ukrainians that West is meddling in their affairs. And Putin can use Canada's action as an excuse for Russia to interfere in Ukraine. Interference must be avoided by all sides.

Yet Western countries must show their support for the fledgling democracy in Ukraine. Yanukovich is gone, but it is still far from clear who will form the new government. There are many factions in the country. The crisis cannot be reduced to a conflict between the western and eastern parts of the country or between the two main language groups.

Therefore the world must wait and pray until great clarity is achieved. In the meantime, Putin especially must be warned to keep his hands off Ukraine while it is in crisis. The West, however, must also be careful as the situation unfolds not to aggravate it and precipitate the division of Ukraine or even war. At the same time, the West must stand up to the Russian bully.

The West too must carefully find a way to encourage those who risked their lives for months in Independence Square to regain freedom for their country. But Ukrainians alone can decide whether to align themselves with Europe or with Russia, or both, or neither. Everyone must demonstrate a lot of wisdom.

While we watched the Olympics much happened in the rest of the world. Ukraine is only one example; there are many more, as I will show in a future post.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Sochi Olympic Games have been successful for the athletes and their home countries, even if they were marked by scandal, but sex has also played a very important role -- more than most people realize. (Note: I wrote this post while these Games were not yet finished, and I revised it slightly after they concluded.)

Success at the Olympic Games can be measured in many different ways. Nations measure it by the number of medals that their athletes win. Athletes train for years for the right to compete and win a coveted place on the podium, especially gold. Yet some athletes compete with the knowledge that they may not win, but they nevertheless have put their best effort into it. That too is a measure of success.

However, sometimes nations fail to achieve the success that they hoped for. Russia, as the host country, hoped to top the medals count, as many other host countries had before it. It has achieved that goal (33 medals), but it missed out in the most important sport of all. Russia was defeated at the hands of Finland in the quarter-finals in men's hockey. They were prepared to lose every gold medal, one Russian has been quoted as saying, if they could win that gold medal. Some of the Russian medals were tarnished by charges of fixing the results. The South Koreans made such a charge, but after the deadline for protests had passed.

Russia's gold in hockey was not to be. Canada's men and women's teams both won gold medals, after Russia and the United States had been humbled. Canada was successful, even if it did not win as many gold or total medals as it did in Vancouver. Some of the Canadian athletes came in 4th place in various events, while others were unable to place in their own special events, sometimes through freakish accidents.

These were "Putin's Games" and they were his to lose. He lost on the biggest stage that the international sports world provides, in spite of spending more money on the preparations for these Olympics ($51 billion) than was spent for all the previous ones put together. The venues and facilities were stylish, but blatant and extensive corruption has resulted in enriching some close friends of Putin but leaving several facilities, especially hotels, unfinished when the Games opened.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov alleges that $30 billion of that very large amount was stolen. That figure seems excessive, but Nemtsov may be right. This is a scandal that even a Russian gold in hockey might not have been able to atone for.

There have been other scandals as well at the Sochi Games. The charge by a Russian coach, first published in a French sports magazine, of collusion between the Russians and the Americans to guarantee a gold medal to each country in ice dancing, while leaving Canada out in the cold with two silver medals, cannot be proved, but a close study of the scores indicates that may indeed have happened. An official protest was not filed.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canadian ice dancers, received a silver medal

The passage of anti-gay legislation by the Russian Duma in 2013 was widely perceived by many countries to be scandalous. This was the reason why many world leaders, including President Barack Obama, boycotted the Sochi Games.

Scandals, of course, are nothing new to the Olympics. The Salt Lake City Games in 2002 were notorious for charges of bribery to win the games. The accused were later acquitted, although the charges did result in a few IOC members being forced to resign, and new rules regarding gifts to members being implemented.

There was also the scandalous admission in Salt Lake City by a French judge that she had awarded higher marks to a Russian pair in figure skating, even though they were error-prone, with the result that a Canadian pair who had skated almost perfectly received the silver. The Canadians did receive gold medals as well after this confession and the marking system was changed, yet to this day figure skating is still suspect, as the Sochi Games demonstrate.

The new system may be fairer, but its lack of transparency means that this sport is still open to scandal. Only when that possibility is removed can it become recognized as a true sport, in spite of the obvious athleticism of the skaters. The subjectivity of this marking system too has to eliminated, or at least reduced further.

What is less known about the Olympic Games is the most popular sport: of all: sex. Many people, especially some people of faith, may be scandalized, but sex seems to have been foremost on the mind of the athletes, as well as some of the volunteers, journalists and friends who came to the Games.

Olympic sex tape (faked)

More than 100,000 condoms were distributed in the Olympic Village before the start of the Games. With almost 3,000 athletes (40% of whom were women) that is potentially a lot of sexual activity, even if spread out over a little more than two weeks.

Time Magazine reports in an article entitled "A Brief History of Sex at the Olympics" that at the London Olympics in 2012 150,000 condoms were distributed. There were reports that people there were having sex right out in the open on the grass. In Vancouver in 2010 there had been reports of orgies involving athletes.

During the Beijing Games in 2008 authorities distributed only 100,000 condoms to athletes, but 400,000 to hotels. In Sydney in 2000 70,000 condoms were handed out, but that was not enough and another 20.000 were ordered after the first week.

Why should that be so surprising? These athletes are young men and women who are in peak physical shape. Why should their athleticism be limited to their own sports, when their favorite extracurricular activity is so readily available?

These athletes obviously do not believe that abstinence is necessary before an an event in order to improve athletic performance. Science, apparently, has found that testosterone increases after sex. While that may be true for male athletes, one wonders whether that applies to females as well. Probably not, although the sex may not hurt them either.

And as if the proximity of so many athletes of both sexes in the dorms in Olympic Village in Sochi were not sufficient, there is now a new app called Tinder that facilitates their getting together. Tinder matches people based on where they are located. Using profiles from their Facebook photos, it pairs up Tinder users based on how near by they are to each other. By swiping their cell phone to the right or left they indicate whether or not they "approve" of each other. Only then are they are able to communicate and get together.

However, since the athletes are already so close to each other, they may not need any social media. After all they managed very well without such a hooking-up app in the past. In previous Olympics they obviously were able to plan trysts (even if they were not always entirely private) without Tinder.

Success, scandal and sex were present in Sochi, if not always always at the same time and to an equal degree. Now that they are over, the world can sit back and calmly assess whether these Olympic Games were worth the expense.

The Russians may not conclude that the Games have been entirely successful for them, but Putin had tried to help his country regain its former greatness. In that he was not as successful as he and his countrymen hoped. The Russian athletes did not perform as well as expected, certainly not in men's hockey.

Many athletes, however, will feel they were very successful, even if they did win any medals. They came in order to compete, and hopefully to win. Success cannot be measured by the number or color of the medals.

Protests in Ukraine

At the end of the Games the tragic deaths of so many protesters and police in Ukraine cast a pall over them. Putin will have to deal with the events in that country that is just down the coast of the Black Sea from Sochi.

No doubt more sordid details of the corruption surrounding the Sochi Games will continue to come out for many months and years. That too will reflect poorly on both Putin and Russia. These after all were "Putin's Games." Unfortunately, the whole country has been dragged into further disrepute, rather than being being built up.

And as for sex, that extracurricular activity will never cease to lose its popularity, especially among young people who are in the prime of life when they participate in the Olympics. Don't look so askance: sex is a normal activity that will remain part of the Olympic Games, even if it may not be featured on TV.

Let's not pretend that sex does not happen at the Olympics. When I first arrived in Russia in 1995, people told me stories about how Russians were told on TV that they do not have sex. They know better, of course. So do we, also about the Olympic Games.

The Sochi Olympics were a great event that was marred by some scandals, but they were also the site of numerous successes, especially for the athletes. And sex, well that has become established as an integral, if still largely unspoken, part of the Olympic Games. We will have to wait until 2018 to find out what the next Winter Olympics, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will bring.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Canada's Office of Religious Freedom is now one year old. Thus an assessment on this anniversary is appropriate. That is what I want to do in this post.

Two years ago I raised the question: Does Canada need an Office of Religious Freedom?Then I asked whether Canada needed such an office or whether this was just a political ploy. In my opinion, the proposal by the Canadian government to establish this office was politically motivated. It fulfilled a promise made in the 2011 federal election that helped them win a majority in the election.I concluded that post by warning that the government should be very careful in what it does with the new office. It was a good idea, I explained, but it could be abused in many ways. There is now evidence that such abuse has indeed happened.

A year ago the Office of Religious Freedom was unveiled,along with its first Ambassador, Andrew Bennett. The new office has an impressive name and a huge mandate, but the staff is minimal, only five people, and the funding is minuscule, only C$5 million, which amounts to 0.002 per cent of the budget of C$2.5 billion for the entire Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, of which it is a part. C$4.2 is earmarked for a Religious Freedom Fund that is intended to support religious communities that face persecution in their home country.
According to the Foreign Affairs and International Tradewebsite, the office's mandate is three-fold:

protect, and advocate on behalf of, religious minorities under threat;

oppose religious hatred and intolerance; and

promote Canadian values of pluralism and tolerance abroad.

Ambassador Andrew Bennett

Andrew Bennett is a sub-deacon in the Ukrainian Catholic Church. This church is Orthodox in liturgy, but recognizes the Bishop of Rome. Because he is a Christian, some have accused him of bias in focusing on the persecution of Christians and that his office is being used for political purposes.

The first accusations is not entirely fair. As the Toronto Star reports, in the last few years there has been a significant rise in religious hostilities around the globe. From 2007 to 2012, the proportion of of countries where abuse of religious minorities occurs almost doubled from 24% to 47%, while the use or threat of violence to enforce religious norms has more than doubled from 18% to 39%.

Bennett quotes the Pew Research Center when he states that about one third of all the countries in the world place high restrictions on religious practices and experience some social hostilities. In total numbers that takes in roughly 75% of the world's population. There are several countries where his office is not permitted to visit.

Interestingly enough, both Christians and Muslims are harassed in roughly an equal number of countries. Thus neither religion can claim that it is being persecuted more than the other. Yet it must be noted that Christians today are persecuted primarily by Muslims and the adherents of other faiths, while Muslims also experience a lot of persecution from their fellow Muslims.

But the use of the Office of Religious Freedom for political purposes is a much more difficult accusation to fend off. Bennett accompanied Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his recent trip to Israel, where Harper took a strong pro-Israel stance, clearly in order to curry favor with Jewish voters. Bennett's involvement in such a highly political trip is questionable, since it put the neutrality of his office in jeopardy.

The office was already jeopardized through its use by the Conservatives to appeal to the ethnic vote that they will need in the 2015 election. Bennett has traveled extensively and made contacts with the leaders of many religious groups, but none of these groups are represented in the office. That will not be possible as long as it has such a minimal staffing, but there ought to be some indications that it is moving in that direction. So far there are none.

Some groups have been positive about the office, but that may only be out of politeness. Most Canadians are unaware of the Office of Religious Freedom, which is hardly surprising since it has a minuscule budget. However, in fairness to Bennett, he will need more time to give it more credibility. Perhaps, by this time next year, it will become a little clearer whether it is indeed credible or it will be exposed as a political tool that is intended to win the next federal election.

Much remains to be done. The Religious Freedom Fund, which has funded several programs already, is now slated to fund a project in Nigeria that will bring Muslim and Christian women together for dialogue. But how much that will achieve is debatable. There are many local initiatives there that also need funding. But when funding is extremely limited, how many of them could be funded, even if Bennett was aware of them?

The office looks good on paper, and Bennett's intentions are no doubt noble, but the office is limited in what it can accomplish. Some issues that have been neglected thus far, or were totally ignored, are atheism and

freedom from religion.

Atheists would like Bennett's office to investigate the persecution of atheists. They would also like the Office of Religious Freedom to concern itself with freedom from religion. Whether that is possible is dubious.

Bennett emphasized a year ago at the opening that his office would defend everyone, even those who have no religion: "All people of faith and, again, those who choose not to have faith, need to be protected, their rights need to be respected. That's what this office is about." That would seem to include atheists and humanists.

A government that has no use for science opens an Office of Religious Freedom

But, as I have argued in an earlier post, freedom from religion, as some atheists and humanists present it, is impossible. The influence of religion is pervasive. Sometimes it is healthy and productive, sometimes it is not. Yet when atheists and humanists want to avoid the influence of religion entirely, they are throwing the baby out with the bath water. They see religion as entirely evil, but I do not. That is a fundamental difference. and that is why, in my opinion, the issue of freedom from religion probably does not belong on Bennett's agenda.

That does not mean that atheists do not deserve protection, if they are indeed being persecuted. However, I do not see many examples today of atheists being persecuted. On the contrary, believers are too often held up to ridicule by atheists, as I can testify form my own experience over the years. I admit that may not qualify yet as persecution, but it too is objectionable. If freedom of religion means anything, it means that I, and many others too, should be able to practice our respective faiths without any form of persecution, however subtle, from those who claim to have no religion.

The effectiveness of what Bennett has accomplished during the last year is debatable. For one thing, it is hard to measure. The mandate of the office is huge, but the minimal staff and funding preclude him from doing very much. If his office is simply to inform, then there are private organizations that are already doing that.

But if it is indeed to protect and be an advocate for religious minorities either in Canada or elsewhere in the world, as per its mandate, then it will not be able to accomplish much more than it has already done, which is very little. It is too small and too underfunded to do anything meaningful.

A global map of religious freedom

If Bennett's office really wants to wants to oppose religious hatred and intolerance, then it will have its hands full indeed. Unfortunately, it will be unable to accomplish little more than issue meaningless platitudes from its small rooms in Ottawa. There is simply too much hatred and intolerance in the world today. They cannot be eradicated, or even mitigated in any substantial way, by this small office, or any other office for that matter.

If it truly desires to promote pluralism and tolerance as Canadian values, then I wonder if this office is the best vehicle for this. Its hands are tied by a Conservative government that does not really respect pluralism as long as minorities are largely excluded from the decision making process. They have, as I have already noted, been excluded from this office.

My suspicion that the Office of Religious Freedom is political creature of the current government is increasing all the time. This office is needed, but I am not sure that with its present mandate, staffing, and funding it can do very much except as a token that pleases the Conservative base and will be another building block that will contribute to yet another majority government for Harper.

In conclusion, my assessment of this office after its first year is one of great disappointment. Much of what has happened I had already anticipated. Yet I had high hopes that it would transcend its limitations and thus become a true voice for religious freedom everywhere. That may yet happen, but not under this government, I add with deep regret.

Canada needs much more than this office, and the world also needs and deserves something much better.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Corruption, and more corruption. That is the back story to the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Even those who know very little about these Olympics have heard about the corruption that accompanied the preparations for the Games.

I have written about corruption previously, a little more than two years ago. In that post I pleaded for a stop to corruption. I was not so naive at the time, however, to think that my post would change the world and put an end to corruption. Nothing much has changed, nor it it likely to. My purpose was merely to inform. Corruption persists everywhere in the world, especially in Russia, as the Sochi Games illustrate so vividly.

This time I will not philosophize as much about corruption the way I did before. Nor will I catalog how extensive it is in Russia. That list would be very long indeed, although I will highlight a few examples from the Sochi Games. The Russians may not like that, but they have a lot of company when it comes to corruption.

In this post I examine Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 in order to show how pervasive corruption is throughout the world today. Russia provides a useful case study, and the preparations for the Sochi Games are a vivid illustration of how corrupt that country is.This Index provides the best indicator of the extent of corruption in a particular country. That is why I am including the list in its entirety so that you will not have to follow a link. But you can easily see how extensive corruption is any country you choose, as measured by the Index. The Index provides a much-needed window on something most countries want to hide.I have modified the formatting of the Index slightly, but all the figures have been retained and were not modified in any way. The entire report can be downloaded.

RANK

COUNTRY

SCORE

SURVEYS USED

CI: LOWER

CI: UPPER

2012 SCORE

1

Denmark

91

7

87

95

90

1

New Zealand

91

7

87

95

90

3

Sweden

89

7

85

93

88

3

Finland

89

7

86

92

90

5

Norway

86

7

82

90

85

5

Singapore

86

9

82

90

87

7

Switzerland

85

6

81

89

86

8

Netherlands

83

7

80

86

84

9

Australia

81

8

79

83

85

9

Canada

81

7

77

85

84

11

Luxembourg

80

6

75

85

80

12

Germany

78

8

74

82

79

12

Iceland

78

6

73

83

82

14

United Kingdom

76

8

74

78

74

15

Hong Kong

75

8

71

79

77

15

Barbados

75

3

63

87

76

15

Belgium

75

7

71

79

75

18

Japan

74

9

70

78

74

19

United States

73

9

66

80

73

19

Uruguay

73

6

71

75

72

21

Ireland

72

6

65

79

69

22

Bahamas

71

3

69

73

71

22

France

71

8

67

75

71

22

Saint Lucia

71

3

70

72

71

22

Chile

71

9

68

74

72

26

Austria

69

8

64

74

69

26

United Arab Emirates

69

7

61

77

68

28

Qatar

68

6

56

80

68

28

Estonia

68

9

64

72

64

30

Botswana

64

7

61

67

65

31

Bhutan

63

4

59

67

63

31

Cyprus

63

5

57

69

66

33

Portugal

62

7

57

67

63

33

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

62

3

53

71

62

33

Puerto Rico

62

3

52

72

63

36

Taiwan

61

7

54

68

61

36

Israel

61

6

58

64

60

38

Brunei

60

3

43

77

55

38

Poland

60

10

56

64

58

40

Spain

59

7

51

67

65

41

Cape Verde

58

4

50

66

60

41

Dominica

58

3

54

62

58

43

Lithuania

57

8

51

63

54

43

Slovenia

57

9

51

63

61

45

Malta

56

5

52

60

57

46

South Korea

55

10

51

59

56

47

Hungary

54

10

48

60

55

47

Seychelles

54

4

41

67

52

49

Rwanda

53

5

44

62

53

49

Costa Rica

53

5

46

60

54

49

Latvia

53

8

47

59

49

52

Mauritius

52

5

50

54

57

53

Malaysia

50

9

44

56

49

53

Turkey

50

9

46

54

49

55

Georgia

49

6

38

60

52

55

Lesotho

49

5

43

55

45

57

Croatia

48

9

43

53

46

57

Bahrain

48

5

39

57

51

57

Namibia

48

6

42

54

48

57

Czech Republic

48

10

43

53

49

61

Slovakia

47

8

39

55

46

61

Oman

47

5

34

60

47

63

Cuba

46

4

39

53

48

63

Ghana

46

9

41

51

45

63

Saudi Arabia

46

5

35

57

44

66

Jordan

45

7

41

49

48

67

Montenegro

44

4

40

48

41

67

Macedonia FYR

44

6

36

52

43

69

Kuwait

43

5

37

49

44

69

Romania

43

9

38

48

44

69

Italy

43

7

39

47

42

72

Brazil

42

8

36

48

43

72

Serbia

42

7

36

48

39

72

South Africa

42

9

37

47

43

72

Bosnia and Herzegovina

42

7

37

47

42

72

Sao Tome and Principe

42

3

34

50

42

77

Tunisia

41

7

38

44

41

77

Bulgaria

41

9

36

46

41

77

Senegal

41

9

39

43

36

80

China

40

9

35

45

39

80

Greece

40

7

33

47

36

82

Swaziland

39

4

36

42

37

83

Trinidad and Tobago

38

4

30

46

39

83

Mongolia

38

7

34

42

36

83

Liberia

38

7

33

43

41

83

Jamaica

38

6

35

41

38

83

El Salvador

38

6

35

41

38

83

Peru

38

7

34

42

38

83

Burkina Faso

38

7

32

44

38

83

Zambia

38

8

35

41

37

91

Malawi

37

8

34

40

37

91

Sri Lanka

37

7

34

40

40

91

Morocco

37

8

32

42

37

94

Algeria

36

6

31

41

34

94

Benin

36

6

30

42

36

94

Armenia

36

6

30

42

34

94

India

36

10

32

40

36

94

Philippines

36

9

32

40

34

94

Suriname

36

3

31

41

37

94

Colombia

36

7

33

39

36

94

Djibouti

36

3

22

50

36

102

Moldova

35

8

30

40

36

102

Thailand

35

8

33

37

37

102

Ecuador

35

6

29

41

32

102

Panama

35

6

31

39

38

106

Bolivia

34

7

28

40

34

106

Gabon

34

5

32

36

35

106

Mexico

34

9

31

37

34

106

Niger

34

5

28

40

33

106

Argentina

34

8

30

38

35

111

Kosovo

33

3

29

37

34

111

Ethiopia

33

8

29

37

33

111

Tanzania

33

8

29

37

35

114

Egypt

32

7

27

37

32

114

Indonesia

32

9

26

38

32

116

Albania

31

7

28

34

33

116

Nepal

31

5

29

33

27

116

Vietnam

31

8

27

35

31

119

East Timor

30

3

25

35

33

119

Mozambique

30

7

27

33

31

119

Sierra Leone

30

8

26

34

31

119

Mauritania

30

5

23

37

31

123

Dominican Republic

29

6

23

35

32

123

Belarus

29

5

22

36

31

123

Guatemala

29

6

25

33

33

123

Togo

29

5

23

35

30

127

Azerbaijan

28

6

22

34

27

127

Comoros

28

3

16

40

28

127

Gambia

28

5

17

39

34

127

Lebanon

28

6

23

33

30

127

Madagascar

28

8

25

31

32

127

Mali

28

6

23

33

34

127

Nicaragua

28

7

24

32

29

127

Pakistan

28

8

23

33

27

127

Russia

28

9

24

32

28

136

Bangladesh

27

7

20

34

26

136

Ivory Coast

27

8

23

31

29

136

Kenya

27

8

23

31

27

136

Guyana

27

4

22

32

28

140

Honduras

26

6

22

30

28

140

Laos

26

4

18

34

21

140

Uganda

26

8

21

31

29

140

Kazakhstan

26

8

21

31

28

144

Cameroon

25

8

20

30

26

144

Central African Republic

25

4

16

34

26

144

Iran

25

6

19

31

28

144

Ukraine

25

8

22

28

26

144

Papua New Guinea

25

5

18

32

25

144

Nigeria

25

9

20

30

27

150

Guinea

24

7

18

30

24

150

Paraguay

24

5

19

29

25

150

Kyrgyzstan

24

6

20

28

24

153

Angola

23

7

18

28

22

154

Congo, Republic of

22

6

16

28

26

154

Tajikistan

22

5

16

28

22

154

Congo, Democratic Republic of

22

5

15

29

21

157

Burundi

21

5

17

25

19

157

Zimbabwe

21

8

14

28

20

157

Myanmar

21

6

15

27

15

160

Venezuela

20

7

16

24

19

160

Eritrea

20

4

2

38

25

160

Cambodia

20

7

15

25

22

163

Guinea Bissau

19

4

15

23

25

163

Haiti

19

5

14

24

19

163

Chad

19

5

13

25

19

163

Equatorial Guinea

19

3

15

23

20

167

Yemen

18

6

14

22

23

168

Uzbekistan

17

6

14

20

17

168

Syria

17

4

11

23

26

168

Turkmenistan

17

3

12

22

17

171

Iraq

16

4

12

20

18

172

Libya

15

6

10

20

21

173

South Sudan

14

3

11

17

0

174

Sudan

11

6

5

17

13

175

North Korea

8

3

2

14

8

175

Afghanistan

8

3

3

13

8

175

Somalia

8

4

5

11

8

The scale has changed slightly from the 2011 Index, which used a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean). This is what I used in my earlier post. Yet, when I compare the two Indexes, it is apparent that many nations have for the most part remained in very similar places relative to one another.

The 2013 Index scores 177 countries and territories on a scale from 0 to 100. The report notes that no country has a perfect score, but that two-thirds of the countries score below 50. This indicates, according to the authors of the Index, a serious, worldwide corruption problem. The tentacles of corruption can be found everywhere in the world.

This annual Index measures only the perceived level of public
sector corruption. It does not include other more private forms of corruption, but these, I
suggest, are often closely correlated
with public sector corruption.

The Nordic countries, together with New Zealand and Singapore, occupy the top five spots on the 2013 list. North Korea, Afghanistan and Somalia share the last place. Russia is 128th on this list with a score of 28, which is rather dismal. It indicates that corruption is pervasive in that country.

That is hardly surprising. I lived in Russia for seven years, and taught philosophy and political science at Moscow State University. What was true then is still true: corruption, and more corruption.

The Sochi Olympic Games cost about $51 billion, which is more than four times the original estimate when Sochi was awarded the Games seven years ago. Corruption is the primary reason for these cost overruns. It is also the reason why not all the structures, especially some hotels, were not finished on time.

Corruption has contributed to the security problem that the Sochi Games are experiencing. The Russian government has not been able to deal effectively with dissidenta, except in typically heavy-handed fashion. This is especially true of terrorist groups that resort to violence. If the government had used the money wasted through corruption more usefully these groups might never have arisen. Instead, their needs could have been achieved through non-violent means.

A poll by the Levada research group found 47 percent of Russians believed the cost of hosting the Games has soared because funds have been embezzled or mismanaged. Only 22 percent said they believed officials or businessmen responsible for pilfering funds would be brought to justice after the Olympics, and 17 percent said they thought that Russia had bid for the Games mainly to boost Putin's image.

The Russian Olympic Organizing Committee, under the instruction of President Vladimir Putin, awarded many of the contracts for the Olympic buildings and infrastructure to Putin's friends, most of whom had been his associates from his days in the KGB.

It is estimated that at least 20% of all these contracts were kick backs. This is massive corruption. If the pattern in many other countries also holds true in Russia, everyone in the food chain right up to the very top took their cut of that amount. As I noted in my post a few years ago, corruption can take structural forms. This is what makes it so difficult to eradicate.

My focus on the Sochi Games is because of the way they help to illustrate both the endemic nature and the extent of corruption in Russia. A handful of people have become scandalously rich indeed, while the majority of the population have not benefited from the largess that was disbursed so freely in the run-up to the Games.

Russia has many needs, but these cannot be met while corruption bleeds off the money that could help to alleviate these needs. Corruption can and does destroy nations. Russia is one example, but there are many more. And the forces that drive corruption are very powerful.

The same thing is happening in many other countries around the globe, as the Index shows. When two-third of the countries in the world have a score below 50%, the world is in bad shape. Corruption is endemic not only in Russia but also in much of the world.

Even the United States has no reason to boast when it comes to corruption: it shares 19th place on the Index with Uruguay. A score of 73 is nothing to be proud of. Canada fares a little better, but not much: it ties with Australia with a score of 81 for 9th place. Transparency International may group Canada among the least corrupt countries, but it is still far from perfect.

The fact that no nation has a perfect score indicates that corruption can be found all over the globe. Sadly, no nation is immune from this disease. The only thing that differs is the degree and extent of corruption.

Corruption indeed has to stop, but it will not, not as long as there are greedy people in the world. The problem is made worse when you realize that corruption has achieved structural proportions in many countries. In other words, the structures of a particular society make it almost impossible to eradicate. I give examples of this in my earlier post on corruption.

Although much of the world may not want to hear the word, corruption is a sin that is deeply rooted in many individuals and societies. All of us share that sin to varying degrees. Few of us may be corrupt, but when we condone corruption in any way, we contribute to its persistence. We are all guilty. All of us are also affected by corruption, whether we like it or not. Thus it is important that we keep ourselves aware of the extent of corruption in the world. Corruption persists everywhere, but efforts must be made to stop it.

From my own religious perspective, corruption will persist until Jesus Christ returns and ushers in a new earth where sin is no more, and neither is death. Then corruption too will end. But that event still lies in the future. We must all wait until that day.

The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2013, in its own words, "serves as a reminder that the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery continue to ravage societies around the world. The world urgently needs a renewed effort to crack down on money laundering, clean up political finance, pursue the return of stolen assets and build more transparent public institutions."

About Me

This illustrated blog discusses what is happening in the world today, especially if it involves religion. After a long period of being dismissed from discussion in the public square, religion is once again openly talked about because of increased recognition of its role in the world today. This change is evident in the light of new developments in the Middle East and North Africa.
Allow me to introduce myself. I received a Th.M. from Calvin Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. For almost forty years I taught philosophy and theology in many countries, primarily the Philippines, Russia, and Nigeria.
For most of the year I live in Toronto, together with my wife, Wendy, who also lectures in philosophy and theology. We have three adult children: a daughter living in Toronto; a son also living in Toronto, who has a son; and another daughter, who has four children, living near Boston.